DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A temperature inversion is like a special weather situation where the normal pattern of temperature change with height gets flipped.

Normally, as you go higher up in elevation, it gets colder. But during a temperature inversion, a layer of warm air sits above cooler air near the ground. Think of it like a blanket of warm air trapping the cooler air underneath.

This can cause things like fog or pollution to get stuck close to the ground because the warm air acts like a lid, preventing the cooler air below from mixing with the warmer air above.

In today's inversion, clouds and patchy fog will linger through the night with little more than a passing sprinkle or spot of drizzle.

Gusty winds or a storm system is needed to break the inversion, allowing for air to mix

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